The York Revolution received a strong spot start during the day game and a late rally in the night game, but it was not enough to avoid a doubleheader sweep to the Long Island Ducks on Wednesday at PeoplesBank Park, falling 7-2 and 8-5 in the day-night affair. The Revs will be off on Thursday before kicking off a six-game road trip at Somerset on Friday, looking to snap a four-game skid.
Curtis Partch made the spot start for the Revs (5-8) in the first game, and impressed with five strong innings, allowing three runs and striking out seven, the most strikeouts in a start of any York pitcher this season.
The Revs scored in each of the first two innings, as Derrick Robinson extended his hitting streak to five games with a single and then came home on a wild pitch later in the first. Jared Mitchell hit his first home run of the season to right field in the second inning off of Long Island starter Dennis O’Grady, but the right-hander allowed only those two runs in five innings to earn his first win of the season.
Mitchell added a bunt single giving him two hits in the game to go with a diving catch in right field in the eighth.
The Ducks continued their hot hitting at the plate, tallying 14 hits in the first game, while every hitter in the lineup had at least one.
Marc Krauss gave the Ducks a 3-2 lead on an RBI single in the fifth, and Long Island spaced its lead with two runs each in the sixth and seventh, including a two-run homer to right-center by Angelo Songco in the seventh inning to provide the final margin.
Ducks pitchers combined to hold York to just two hits over the final seven innings in the opener.
The Long Island bats did not slow down in the nightcap as the Ducks finished with 13 hits, reaching double digits in all four games in the series.
The Ducks scored three in the first inning including a two-run homer to left-center by Nolan Reimold, and batted around in the fourth, scoring four times to build an 8-0 lead.
Meanwhile Ducks righty Tyler Levine set down the first ten hitters he faced in the third-year pro’s first career start.
York’s offense got going in the fourth when the Revs strung together three singles, with Luis Alen driving home Jose Constanza for the first run. An inning later Bryan Pounds launched his first home run of the season, clearing the Arch Nemesis in left to cut the deficit to 8-2.
York put together a rally in the eighth inning, scoring three on an RBI double by Michael Burgess off the wall in left, followed by a two RBI single by Alen, who drove in three of the five runs for York.
Joe Van Meter and Luke Westphal each have yet to give up a run this season for the York bullpen as they combined to work with Brad Allen and Chase Huchingson for 5.2 scoreless innings in relief of starter Steve Janas (1-2) who suffered the loss. Huchingson retired all six batters in the eighth and ninth including four groundouts, all to second baseman Angel Franco.
Levine (1-0) limited York to two runs on four hits in seven innings to earn the win. Tyler Wilson squelched York’s visions of a comeback with a perfect ninth for his first save.
After Thursday’s off day, the Revs hit the road for a three-game series at Somerset, before a chance at revenge against the Ducks, this time a three-game set on Long Island. Darrell Henry will have the call for all of the games on SportsRadio 1350 WOYK, as well as online at woyk1350.com and on the WOYK app. Coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on Friday from TD Bank Ballpark.